Gardens in Spanish Culture
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Gardens in Spanish Culture 8 MAY – 25 MAY 2017 Code: 21707 Tour Leaders Professor Tim Entwisle, Anneli Bojstad Physical Ratings Horticulturalist Tim Entwisle and Anneli Bojstad, author of 'Great Gardens of Spain', share a feast of splendid gardens & great monuments from Seville to Old Castile, north of Madrid. Overview Tour Highlights Travel with Professor Tim Entwisle, Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and Anneli Bojstad, author of Great Gardens of Spain. Meet Spanish garden designer Eduardo Mencos, author of Hidden Gardens of Spain. Eduardo and his wife Anneli will show us their family country farm 'La Lancha', a landscaped working farm near Jarandilla de la Vera. Study the work of award-winning landscape architect Fernando Caruncho at the private gardens of the Rosales, and the ‘Terraza de los Laureles’ at Madrid's Royal Botanical Gardens. Visit a selection of private gardens hosted by their owners including: La Zarcilla, a rose garden in Madrid; Carlos Mayans' garden, created by his late mother in Trujillo; the palace gardens of Marquès de Salvatierra in Ronda; the gardens of Marquesa of Casa Valdés, author of the acclaimed book Spanish Gardens; the garden of San Segundo in Ávila, owned by Juan Martínez de las Rivas; and Jardín de El Romeral de San Marcos, owned by Julia Casaravila Silva, widow of pioneering landscape designer Leandro Silva. Meet Álvaro de la Rosa, an award-winning sculptor and landscape designer who will show us examples of his inspirational work. Visit Córdoba's delightful, hidden, Islamic-style courtyard gardens during the Festival de los Patios. Tour the historic La Concepción garden in Málaga. With a naturalist visit Monfragüe National Park, an outstanding site for the Eurasian Black and Griffon vultures, as well as the Spanish Imperial, Golden and Bonelli eagles. Visit a number of the country’s greatest monuments: Granada’s Alhambra, Córdoba’s Great Mosque, Seville’s Alcázar and Cathedral, Trujillo's castle and grand church of St Martín and Segovia's Roman aqueduct View the work of 17th-century masters like Velázquez and Goya, as well as German and Italian masterpieces, in the Museo del Prado. Stay at several heritage hotels including the paradors of Ronda, Jarandilla de la Vera, and the Hotel San Juan de los Reyes. Dine at paradors and local restaurants to feast on regional specialities; and conclude with a memorable evening dinner at the private home of art collector Sofía Barosso in Madrid. 18 days in Spain Overnight Seville (3 nights) • Córdoba (2 nights) • Ronda (1 night) • Granada (3 nights) • Toledo (2 nights) • Jarandilla de la Vera (2 nights) • Segovia (1 night) • Madrid (3 nights). Overview Together we explore Spain’s distinctive gardening tradition shaped both by the country’s great climatic diversity and its powerful Islamic heritage. This tour places special emphasis upon privileged private garden visits and meetings with Spain's top landscape architects and garden owners. We visit splendid gardens and great monuments from Spain's Mediterranean coast to Old Castile, north of Madrid. Sculptor and landscape designer Álvaro de la Rosa will show us some of his new and exciting projects in Madrid. Eduardo Mencos, author of Hidden Gardens of Spain, will welcome us at his family farm in Extremadura. We also visit private gardens hosted by their owners, including Jardín Rosales, designed by award-winning landscape architect Fernando Caruncho; and La Zarcilla in Madrid, San Segundo in Ávila, Galiana Castle in Toledo, Palacio del Marqués de Salvatierra in Ronda, the late Olga Mayans’ garden built around the ruins of Trujillo’s medieval castle, and the garden created by Eduardo’s grandmother, the Marquesa of Casa Valdés, Gardens in Spanish Culture May 2016 Page 2 author of the acclaimed book Spanish Gardens. In Madrid we view Patrick Blanc's vertical garden at the CaixaForum and spend a memorable evening at the private home of art collector Sofía Barosso. With a local naturalist we visit the Monfragüe National Park, a UNESCO listed Biosphere Reserve, to study the many species of Mediterranean plants and trees and observe the birds along the course of the Tagus River. This tour coincides with the Córdoba Patio Festival when many delightful Islamic courtyard gardens are opened to public view. We also discover Toledo’s cigarrales (country houses). Encounters with these intimate spaces are juxtaposed with visits to grand urban palaces, including Seville’s Casa de Pilatos. We also explore a number of Spain’s greatest monuments: Granada’s Alhambra, Córdoba’s Great Mosque and Seville’s Alcázar. In the Prado we view masterpieces by El Greco, Velázquez and Goya. A highlight is our stay at heritage hotels. Gardens in Spanish Culture May 2016 Page 3 Leaders Professor Tim Entwisle Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria since March 2013, following 2 years in a senior role at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and 8 years as Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust in Sydney. Director and Chief Executive, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Professor Tim Entwisle is a highly respected scientist, scientific communicator and botanic gardens director. He took up the role of Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in March 2013, following two years in a senior role at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and eight years as Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust in Sydney. Tim is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of Botany at The University of Melbourne and has been a Visiting Professor in the School of Biological and Biomedical Science, Durham University. He is an expert in freshwater algae (a genus, family and order of algae were named after him in 2014) but has a broad interest in all plants and related life forms – for example, he edited and wrote for the 4-volume Flora of Victoria. In 2014 Tim published Sprinter and Sprummer: Australia’s Changing Seasons, challenging the use of the traditional four seasons in Australia. Tim blogs (TalkingPlants), tweets, and looks for any opportunity to promote science, plants and gardens. He is a frequent guest on Australian radio and television, and writes opinion pieces for the major newspapers. Over the summers of 2014-15 and 2015-16 Tim hosted ABC Radio National’s first gardening show, Talking Plants, and he contributes regularly to RN’s Blueprint for Living. He writes for a variety of science, nature and garden magazines and maintains an active social media profile. In 2017 Tim joins ASA as tour lecturer for 'Gardens in Spanish Culture'. Tim also has an interest in indie music, literature, kayaking and anything to do with Dr Samuel Johnson. Learn more about bushland biodiversity in Tim's video - Biodiversity and the Seasons (YouTube - 3:02) Hear Tim talk about managing heritage trees in Sydney - Trees - Natural and Cultural Values (Youtube - 31:13) Tim explains why we need plants to live and to enjoy life - Curing Plant Blindness and Illiteracy (Youtube - 60:00) Anneli Bojstad Anneli has hosted ASA groups for 10 years with husband, landscape Gardens in Spanish Culture May 2016 Page 4 architect Eduardo Mencos. Author of 'Great Gardens of Spain', she has curated exhibitions including ‘Jardines del Alma’ in the Real Jardín Botánico Swedish-born Anneli Bojstad has lived and worked in Spain for the past 27 years, developing and managing cultural projects in various fields, curating art exhibitions, publishing books on gardens, architecture and Spanish landscapes, and designing and running specialist study tours. Anneli is the author of Great Gardens of Spain (2011), Jardines Mágicos de España (2011) and La Gran Aventura de los Indianos (2008) and has contributed articles to major national and international publications such as Architectural Digest, Vogue, Elle Deco, Telva, Casa & Campo and many more. She has curated exhibitions for major venues such as the Jardines del Alma exhibition in the Real Jardín Botánico (Royal Botanical Gardens, Madrid) for which she also coordinated and wrote the bilingual catalogue. Along with her publishing and exhibition design Anneli has an intimate knowledge of landscape architecture practice in Spain, having designed terrace gardens for and administered the landscape architecture practice, Estudio Eduardo Mencos (www.eduardomencos.com). Anneli gained her BA in Art History at Stockholm University and her MA in Hispanic Studies from Complutense University, Madrid and speaks and writes in Swedish, Spanish, French and English. She has assisted ASA in planning and hosting sections of our garden tours in Spain for ten years. Combine this tour with Art and Landscapes of Southern France: The Côte D’Azur, Provence & the Cévennes 30 MAY – 14 JUN 2017 Natural Landscapes & Gardens of the Channel Islands: Jersey, Guernsey, Herm, Burhou & Sark 26 MAY – 8 JUN 2017 Ancient Algeria, the M’Zab & Saoura Valleys 14 APR – 4 MAY 2017 Gardens in Spanish Culture May 2016 Page 5 Itinerary The following itinerary describes a range of museums, patios, carmenes, cigarrales and gardens which we plan to visit. Many are accessible to the public, but others require special permission which may only be confirmed closer to the tour's departure in 2017. The daily activities described in this itinerary may change or be rotated and/or modified in order to accommodate alterations in opening hours, flight schedules and confirmation of private visits. Participants will receive a final itinerary together with their tour documents prior to departure. The tour includes breakfast daily, lunches & evening meals indicated in the detailed itinerary where: B=breakfast, L=lunch and D=evening meals. Seville - 3 nights Day 1: Monday 8 May, Arrive Seville Arrival transfer for participants arriving on the ASA ‘designated’ flight On arrival at Seville’s airport, participants taking the ASA ‘designated’ flight will transfer by private coach to our hotel, ideally located just 250 metres from Seville Cathedral.